Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Copyright Registrations

If you are reading this post, I am probably "preaching" to the choir. However, I cannot emphasize the importance of copyright registration in protecting your rights or even establishing them.

The new online US Copyright Registration System makes registration painless and quick. I have even considered breaking my own rules and offering a few tele-seminars or online classes on how to use it so that more people and companies will take advantage of this important tool.

I usually equate copyright registration to an approximate $35 insurance policy. SHOULD something go wrong and someone takes your work, it allows you to be able to collect attorneys' fees, enhanced damages, and the like. There are deadlines for these benefits, but they are well worth it. Also, it is important to have the registration completed should one need to immediately enforce their copyrights. Currently, a special handling for the US Copyright Office is $760 versus $35?! WOW!

Contact your favorite Intellectual Property Attorney today to set up a registration plan, visit the US Copyright Office and familiarize yourself with the requirements, talk to your friends....do whatever it takes.

Sorry to be on my soapbox today and usually we are a little more informative but this is a "friendly reminder." Now back to our regularly scheduled programming....

The Fine Print!

Since there may be legal discussions going on...there must be a disclaimer!

This blog is for educational and information purposes only. It does not constitute the practice of law. The attorney who writes this blog is only licensed in the State of Ohio and Michigan. There is NO attorney-client relationship of any type. You must sign appropriate documenation and have appropriate new client counseling to be a client of Browning-Smith, P.C. Each and every situation is different and all readers must seek his or her own legal counsel. The information on this blog is not guaranteed for any purposes nor is it to be relied on.